Romans 8 has been called the greatest chapter in the Bible for good reason. In 39 verses, it describes the Christian life with a sweeping eternal perspective, building up our hope with spectacular promises. We also find that great promises are designed to disturb us into questioning and doubting ourselves. We find one such disturbing promise in verse 14:
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.”
We want the Spirit’s leading in our lives, especially with our big decisions on whom to marry or where we should live. However, Paul is not talking about that kind of leading in this passage. In verse 13, those who are led by the Spirit are “putting to death the deeds of the body.” They are defeating and killing sin in their lives. We find a list of the “deeds of the flesh” in Galatians 5, including sexual immorality, sorcery, idolatry, envy, rivalry, etc. So being led by the Spirit of God means being at war against sin in our lives. The Spirit-led life is a life of continual spiritual warfare.
In Galatians 5, we “walk in the Spirit” by resisting what our fleshly desires want us to do. The desires of the Spirit and the desires of the flesh are against each other, so that we can’t just do what we wish (Galatians 5:16-17). The Spirit leads us to call out our fleshly desires and fight against them. Notice here, we don’t lead the Spirit, for He is God. We cannot win this daily battle by sheer willpower. The Spirit leads us as we rely on Him for winning the loneliest, ugliest battles against sin.
Now, some Christians will tell us that keeping God’s law is the solution to defeating our fleshly desires. Paul anticipated that idea in Galatians 5, for he says in verse 18, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” The law is powerless to defeat sin, since it is “weakened by the flesh (Romans 8:3).” Trying to defeat sin with the 10 commandments does not help the Spirit in His work but is an obstacle. The Spirit operates in our hearts very differently than does the law. How so, you might ask?
The Spirit of Adoption
Our eternal life is personal because it is founded on God’s fatherhood to us. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” ( John 1:12).
As children of God, we are given a profoundly new and different kind of motivation to obey:
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5).
The Son came to redeem those under the law so the Father could adopt them as His own children. Paul is comparing life under the law’s authority to life under a slave master. The law was given to reveal and increase sin (Romans 5:20), not to defeat sin. Like a cruel slave master that you can never please, the law only multiplies your mistakes and discourages your efforts to please God. The law doesn’t empower us, it only condemns us. The harsh authority figure is replaced by a new authority, the Father’s love. The Son redeems us from that slave relationship to a loving family relationship. Slaves obey their masters out of fear, not out of love.
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15).
The gospel of the Son does not lead us back into bondage. A false gospel, however, invariably leads its followers into slavery. Those of us who grew up with Ellen White’s books lived under thousands of commands that governed the tiniest details of life. We were always worried about violating some arbitrary rule, but never quite sure which ones. For those who are weary with those fearful, heavy burdens, Jesus offers us rest:
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).
The gospel releases us from such fears and gives us a superior motivation for living and doing—Adoption! When we believe and trust in Jesus, we are permanently adopted into His great family. That is our new identity that redirects all our efforts. Christians obey God and love others because of who they are, not what they hope to become if they’re good enough.
Adoption is a permanent relationship, and this idea was well-understood in Jesus’ time on earth. Adoption was in no way inferior to ordinary birth by nature. In fact, adopted sons were deliberately chosen to carry the father’s name and inherit his estate. During Paul’s day, it was well known that Octavian was adopted by his uncle, Julius Caesar, and after Julius’ death, Octavian became Augustus Caesar, heir to the throne in Rome. Augustus Caesar was emperor when Jesus was born (John Song, Adoption in the Roman World, https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/adoption-in-the-roman-world-2020-02/).
As our Father’s adopted children, through Christ we have all the rights of full heirs of His inheritance, the entire universe, now and forevermore (Ephesians 1:23).
A Cry From the Heart
“You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”
We are promised that we will know and feel, deep down in our spirits, that we are adopted by the Father. That conviction will be much more than an intellectual assent based on adequate evidence. That knowledge produces a child-like, spontaneous expression of wonder and love. “Abba!” is an Aramaic expression of affection, much like our “Daddy!” We cannot produce that genuine, heartfelt reaction to our Father by an act of our wills. It is His gift to us. We receive the Spirit of adoption by His action in us; we could never manufacture this gift ourselves. Moreover, adoption is a legal action by God our Father that is implanted by the Holy Spirit deep into our spirits.
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).
Christians know this special relationship to God deep down in our souls, even if they don’t feel that confidence all the time. Sometimes our own moods, thoughts, or misguided theology can weaken that knowledge. However, God’s word is sure, and He will remind us.
How do we experience this testimony of our adoption? In Galatians 4, Paul tells us that the Spirit Himself cries out within us, that we are sons: “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6).
However, in Romans 8:15, we are the ones who cry, “Abba! Father!” So, who does the crying out, the Spirit or us? The answer is, of course, both. Remember, the Spirit comes to live permanently within all who have faith in Christ. He becomes a part of us. In fact, Father, Son, and Spirit—the entire Trinity—come to live within us, as Jesus said in John 14:23:
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
Now under the deep, authentic knowledge that God has adopted us through Christ, we can dispel all fear and fight our sin with power. The Spirit leads us, not through fear of disobeying some law, but through reminding us of our connection to our loving Father. We have received the Spirit of Adoption. If you do not yet believe or trust in Jesus, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He has promised to live with us forever, so we can always return to His cross and remember who we are.
When you are in trouble or tempted, flee to His word to refresh your confidence. He will right there with you. †
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